


The Prince & The Witch

by SkyFireForever



Category: Original Work
Genre: Canon Queer Character, Fantasy, M/M, Mages, Magic, Multi, Witchcraft, Witches, magick, mlm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-01-24 06:37:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21333874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyFireForever/pseuds/SkyFireForever
Summary: In a kingdom of both magic and magick, Prince Finn Ryle is about to be crowned as the official heir to the Inforian throne.However, when something goes horribly wrong and a mage threatens the life of the royal family, the kingdom’s acceptance of magic hangs in the balance.Witches and mages alike are rounded up and questioned. No one is safe from the kingdom’s judgement.Prince Finn’s trust of both magick and magic dwindles until he meets a witch by the name of Hansel, whose friend has been captured by the kingdom.Hansel seems different from all the mages and witches Finn has heard about in the past, he seems trustworthy and kind, not to mention attractive. As the two become closer, feelings may start to blossom between them.But is Hansel everything he seems to be? Or does he know more than he lets on?
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was nearly blinding as its rays peered through the crack in Finn’s curtains, hitting his eyes with a burning intensity that he couldn’t avoid. He raised his arm in an attempt to block out the light, but his stiff suit barely allowed him any movement. His arm was immediately snatched back and returned to its original position. 

“Don’t move,” the tailor demanded, her words muffled slightly by the needle she held between her teeth. “You need to be still.”

“Sorry, Lacey,” Finn let out a long sigh, not truly feeling apologetic at all. “It’s just that the sun was in my eyes and I couldn’t see, so I-”

“Quit your yammering. You’re moving too much.” Lacey snapped again, continuing to stitch together the fabric enclosing Finn’s body. Most people wouldn’t be able to get away with speaking to the prince in such a manner, but Lacey had been working for the royal family since before Finn was born. With that position came certain privileges that others didn’t have. 

Finn squinted at the harsh light, wondering how much trouble Lacey would get in if he ended up going blind from the direct sunlight after she hadn’t allowed him to move. Not that he actually wanted her to get into trouble; it was just nice to be imaginatively petty sometimes. He stood as still as he possibly could for what felt like ages, unallowed to do anything besides stare at the window or sometimes at the mirror. He had to admit that it was a beautiful suit, perfect for the ceremony that was to be performed that night. It was a pristine white color with a golden trim that stood out against his brown skin. It made him look delightfully sophisticated, which was all that mattered in the eyes of the public. It hardly mattered that he’d be perfectly content wearing something lighter and easier to move in. That wouldn’t be “princy” enough for the crowd. 

Lacey stepped away after what must have been a millennia, tilting her head to the side and motioning for Finn to turn around, which he did. “Perfect,” she declared, clasping her hands together. “You look wonderful,” she reached forward to brush his hair back, tucking a strand behind his ear. “Are you excited? It’s a big day for you.” 

Finn shrugged, just glad to be able to look away from the sunlight. “Yeah, I guess.” he said noncommittally.

“You guess?” Lacey tutted, crossing her arms. “You  _ guess  _ you’re excited? This isn’t just any ol’ ceremony that you’re preparing for! This is one of the most important ceremonies of your life.” 

“Is it, though?” he asked, stepping down from the box he was standing on. He adjusted his suit jacket, looking himself over in the mirror. “I’m just being designated the ‘official heir to the kingdom’,” he used air quotes around the phrase “official heir to the kingdom”. “But I’m already the prince, the firstborn child of the reigning monarchs. Of  _ course  _ I was going to be the heir.”

Lacey rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Finn’s nonchalance. “There was no guarantee of that. Monarchs have been known to choose their younger children as their heirs, or even someone outside of the royal family entirely. Heck, your grandparents chose their younger child when they made your father their heir. You’re lucky that your parents decided to stick with tradition.” 

“I guess, but it wasn’t as if they had anyone else to choose,” Finn insisted, turning to Lacey. “Thana is too much of a people-pleasure to be queen. She’d sell over the entire kingdom if someone threatened to cry. Uri is just too young to understand anything about ruling and he doesn’t want to rule anyway, and who outside of me and my siblings would they even want to choose? I’m the one who has been trained since birth for this role. No one ever expected them to choose anyone else.” 

“They could have decided to keep Cato as the heir. He’s a respectable man, intelligent, strong. He would make a fine king,” she busied herself with collecting the fabric, lace, string, and needles that she had used to alter Finn’s suit. 

“Yeah, he would make a good king,” Finn agreed, “which is why he was named the heir until I came of age. Now that I’m of age, he isn’t needed anymore. It’s as simple as that.” 

Lacey gave a brief shake of her head. “I just think you should be more grateful for what you’ve got,” she wagged a finger at him. “You should never take anything for granted.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I get it,” Finn waved her off. “Thanks for the advice, but I really don’t need it.”

“Hmph,” the tailor appeared unconvinced. “Just count your blessings. You don’t know how good you’ve got it.” 

Finn began changing out of his suit, saving it for the evening when he’d actually need it. He opened the door to exit the royal changing rooms before being smacked into by his younger brother. 

“Can I see your suit? Can I? Can I?” Uri was practically bouncing off the walls, hyper as usual. “I bet it looks so good! Lacey is the best tailor ever, so she had to have made you the best suit ever!” 

Finn put his hands on Uri’s shoulders, trying to stabilize him and get him to calm down. “You can see it tonight at the ceremony,” he told him. “That’s when everyone else is going to see it.”

Uri put on one of his dramatic pouts, crossing his arms and contorting his face, sticking out his bottom lip. “But I wanna see it now!” he protested, picking up his foot before slamming it to the ground. 

“Too bad,” Finn said simply, ruffling his younger brother’s hair. “You’ll get over it.” 

“You’re so mean,” Uri complained, throwing his head back to shake off Finn’s hand. 

“Yup,” Finn grinned, walking past his brother and down the hallway. He whistled to himself as he continued through the halls, following the twists and turns. He found his way outside and to the gardens. Everything was slightly damp from the rain the night before. 

“Prince Finn!” a voice chirped from behind a nearby tree. Finn turned to see Fiarello, the gardener’s child, leaning against some sort of garden utensil that Finn couldn’t name. “Hi! Are you excited about your ceremony tonight?” they asked cheerfully, rocking back on their heels. 

Finn merely shrugged, not wanting to discuss the upcoming ceremony any further than he already had that day. “Yeah, sure. Hey, do you still have that ball we could toss around? I have hours before I have to be ready.” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” they nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I have it. You wanna play?” their voice was cheerful and eager, as well as childish. Their weren’t many children in the castle, so Fierello sought any chance they could to connect with anyone even close to their age. Truthfully, they were much closer in age to Uri than to Finn, but they were less childish despite being a full year younger than Finn’s brother. 

Finn nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, sure. Why not,” he smiled warmly at the younger person, trying to make them feel accepted and welcome. Fiarello may be younger, but they still deserved companionship. 

The child beamed at Finn and threw their gardening tool to the dirt, dashing towards a shed not too far away. “I’ll grab it right away,” they exclaimed as they hurried to retrieve the ball from the shed. They quickly returned, tossing the ball into the air and catching it several times. “Is there a specific game you wanna play?” they asked, cocking their head to one side. 

Finn merely shrugged, having nothing in mind. “We could just play catch, if you’d like,” he offered, removing his hands from his pockets so he could catch the ball once it was thrown to him.

“Oh, alright,” Fiarello seemed like they had more to say, but thought better of it. Finn rose an eyebrow.

“Would you rather play something else?” he asked, reading Fiarello’s body language. 

“Oh, well, it’s just that I invented my own game,” Fiarello said quickly, almost like they were trying to get all of the words out before they could change their mind about saying them. “It doesn’t have a name yet, but what you do is toss the ball back and forth, but you have to take a step back each time you catch it, so that way you have to toss the ball further each time you throw it,” they explained, “then, when someone fails to catch it, they have to throw the ball as far as they can and the other person has to run and catch it. If the person can’t catch it, then the person who threw it gets a point. If they do catch it, then they get a point. Then, the game starts over.”

Finn tapped his finger against his chin, considering. “Alright. Let’s play that, then. It sounds fun.”

“It does?” Fiarello perked up, looking up at Finn excitedly. “You wanna play it?” 

“Sure,” he nodded. “Let’s play.”

“Okay!” Fiarello moved closer to Finn, gently tossing the ball to him, which he caught. Finn took a step backwards, as per the rules of the game before tossing the ball back to Fiarello, who caught it and took a step back. This continued for some time, each of them tossing and catching the ball before stepping backwards to toss the ball again. Whenever one of them missed the ball, they threw it as hard as they could and the other ran to catch it. The first time, it was Fiarello who had to throw it and Finn ran across the garden in an effort to catch the ball as it soared through the air. He slipped in the slick mud and fell in a puddle, the ball landing safely in his hands. He laughed as he picked himself up and he earned his point.

The game went on for quite awhile, Finn quickly earning more and more points. Soon, the sun began to dip below the horizon and the prince looked up in surprise. “Is it sunset already?” he asked, his eyes wide. “Shoot! The ceremony!” he tossed the ball back to Fiarello before turning and running back towards the castle. “Sorry, but I’ve gotta go! It was fun playing with you, Fiarello!” he called behind him as he pulled open the back door to the palace. He dashed inside, tracking mud onto the floor. He jogged through the hallways and up the stairs, hoping that he would have time to bathe before the ceremony. A door to his right opened and a hand reached out to grab his arm. 

“Finn Kumar Ryle!” his mother’s voice was stern and biting, her grip on his arm strong. “Your ceremony is in less than an hour and look at you!” she exclaimed, using her free hand to gesture to the mud that coated him. “Hurry, we must get you clean,” she tugged him towards a bathroom, hurriedly going about bathing him herself. She ignored his protests and instance that he could bathe himself. “Is this really how you’re going to behave as heir to the throne?” she chastised, pouring water over his head. “This ceremony is supposed to show that you are no longer a child. You can not continue to do such childish things.”

“I know, Ma. I know,” Finn insisted, trying to move his wet hair from his eyes. “I just wanted to pass some time and before I knew it, it was sundown,” he tried desperately to explain. “I was going to get cleaned up before the ceremony.”

The queen tssked and shook her head at her son. “You have to maintain dignity on days like today. You are serving as an example of the royal family. If the people think we allow our heir to run around and play games when he should be preparing for an important event, what will they think of us?” she helped him out of the tub and worked on drying him. “They’ll think that we don’t take our responsibilities seriously. They’ll lose faith in us.” 

“It was just a game,” Finn grumbled as his mother used an absorbent cloth to dry his hair. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Well, I don’t know how to explain it to you any more clearly,” she sighed and shook her head. “You need to take your duties as heir seriously. That includes maintaining your reputation.” 

“Okay, okay. I get it,” Finn stepped away from his mother just as Lacey entered the room with the suit she had modified earlier. The prince flushed and quickly attempted to cover himself, but Lacey wove him away. 

“There’s no time for that,” she snapped. “Come on, now, let’s get you into this thing.” 

Finn felt utterly humiliated as he was helped into his clothing by his mother and tailor. He was clothed before other servants came to the room to help him with his makeup and to style his hair. His mother kept coaching him on how to smile like he meant it, making sure that he would look his best and most approachable during the ceremony. He was pampered and prepared before being escorted out of the room and towards the throne room, bodyguards and servants on all sides. His mother stopped him outside of the door, straightening his suit for him and fixing his collar. 

“Are you nervous?” she asked, her eyes searching his face for any hint of doubt. 

Finn shook his head. “No, Ma. It’s just another fancy ceremony. Nothing I’m not used to,” he flashed her a reassuring smile. 

“This is more than just a ceremony, Finn,” she told him seriously. “This ceremony means responsibility, adulthood. This is the marker of you becoming what you were always meant to be. From here on in, the people of our kingdom will look to you for support and guidance,” she cupped his cheek in her cold hand. “This is a big step.” 

Finn sighed and gave a solemn nod. “I know,” he took her hand in his own. “But I’ve got this. I’m not scared.” 

“Good,” she placed a kiss to his forehead, cradling the back of his head. “Good luck, sweetheart. I know you can do this.” 

The prince turned towards the door and took a breath, mentally preparing himself to step into his new role as heir. He heard the ceremonial music through the doors, almost announcing his cue. He inhaled and the servants pulled open the large double doors leading to the throne room. Finn plastered on a fake smile and stepped inside, looking over the crowd of people who had gathered. He rose his hand in a simple wave as he and his mother walked down the middle of the room. The queen held her head high, a perfect smile upon her face. She was a paragon of dignity and grace, every movement having been considered. Finn was almost in awe of her, not knowing how she managed to do it. 

As soon as Finn stepped foot into the room, the crowd erupted into cheers, his audience applauding him. He continued towards the front of the room to where his father and siblings were standing. 

The king had a large and friendly smile on his face as he put his hands together upon the entrance of his son. His gaze was full of pride as he watched his son and wife make their way to the front of the room. Upon their arrival, the queen took her place beside her husband while Finn remained at the bottom of the steps that lead to the thrones. He bowed his head respectfully, keeping his eyes downcast. 

“Finn Ryle,” the king’s voice was steady and firm, yet kind and gentle. “My son,” he allowed a smile to crack through his neutral facade. “You are gathered before your crown and people on this day to accept the position of heir to the Inforian throne, is that correct?” 

“It is,” Finn kept his voice steady and strong. 

“Very well,” the king nodded and motioned for Finn’s cousin, Henrietta, to step forward from the crowd. She was carrying a red pillow with a golden pin placed atop it. She hurriedly stepped forward with the pillow and the pin, bowing her head and outstretching the pillow as an offering towards the king, who picked up the pin gently and nodded to her. She quickly resumed her position as the king returned his attention to his son. “Whose trust and faith is vested in you as you accept this role?” 

Finn knew how to respond, having spent the past week memorizing his lines as it concerned the questions that would be asked of him during the ceremony. “Not only the faith of my parents, the king and queen of Inforia, but also the faith of the people of this fine kingdom is being entrusted in me.” 

The king nodded. “And what will you do once you have that trust?”

“I will carry that trust with me as sacred. I will never abandon my people nor betray them. I will do everything in my ability to protect that trust and do right by my people and by the king and queen before me.” 

“And why should you be the chosen heir? Why you above others?”   


Finn wasn’t expecting that one and it threw him for a loop. His eyes glanced up at his father’s face for the briefest of moments before returning to stare at the floor. He hadn’t been trained on how to answer this question. “Oh, uh,” he struggled to find the words to say. “Because,” he swallowed. “Because I have the kingdom’s best interest at heart. This kingdom is my home, its people are my family, I would not want to let anyone down.” 

The king gave a firm nod, seemingly satisfied by this answer. “Arise, prince Finn,” he commanded and Finn hurriedly did so. “Step forward,” when Finn did as he was told, his father took the pin he was holding and pinned it to Finn’s suit. “I now officially name you as the heir to the Inforian throne. My people will one day be yours to protect.” 

Finn let out a breath he didn’t know that he had been holding as the room erupted into cheers. He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he faced the crowd. He waved and basked in the attention for a moment, feeling good about himself. 

There was a sudden flash of light that filled the entire room, blinding Finn completely. The light was followed by a loud booming noise that was so deafening that it seemed to originate from inside of Finn’s skull. There was the sound of glass shattering before the light cleared to reveal a hooded figure standing in the middle of the room. The crowd gasped and many took several steps back, attempting to move away from the stranger. 

“Guards!” the queen snapped to attention. “We’re under attack!” 

The guards charged at the figure, their weapons drawn. The figure rose an arm and performed a complex motion that caused a powerful gust of wind to push the guards back, sending them flying across the room.

The king pulled Uri close, allowing his youngest son to bury his face in his robe. “A mage,” the king whispered, causing muttering throughout the crowd. 

The figure slowly turned towards the royal family, their hood hanging below their eyes. “You have made a grave mistake in naming your heir,” their voice was low and menacing. “He is not the rightful heir to the throne,’ they pointed a dark finger threateningly in Finn’s direction. “You have done wrong by the person who would be best for this kingdom.”

“Who are you?” the king demanded. “What do you want from us?”

“I want what is rightfully mine,” the figure said coldly. “If you can’t do that, you put your entire family in danger.”

“Danger? How?” the queen questioned. “Explain yourself.” 

The figure’s mouth pulled into a crooked smile. “You will see. You will all see. I have one piece of advice for you: Keep your children close.” 

There was another blinding flash of light and then the figure was gone. Finn felt his mother’s hands on his shoulders, pulling him close as a hush fell over the room. He felt his heart hammering in his chest as he glanced at his family, each of them looking as frightened as he felt. He swallowed and stared at the broken window, wondering what the figure could have meant by their threats. 


	2. Chapter 2

After the attack, everything was in chaos. The security was doubled in preparation for another possible attack, rumors were flying, and doubt was seeping in. No one seemed to know who the attacker was or where they had come from. Their motives were a complete mystery. The royal children were confined within the palace, not allowed to leave their rooms without a parade of guards following them. It was suffocating as well as terrifying. 

Finn sat on his bed, his hands in his lap as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. He didn’t have many friends outside of the palace, but he couldn’t even venture out to talk with Henrietta or Fiarello. It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid of being attacked by a mysterious mage who might want to kill him; he was, but he was also going out of his mind with boredom. He sighed and fell backwards so he was laying back against his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His gaze fixated on a spider that had built a web in the corner. He watched as it crawled towards the center of its web with its creepy, spindly legs. Finn made a face and rolled over, laying on his side and facing his door. He willed someone to come in and tell him that the mage had been captured, that everything was safe now. But no matter how hard Finn gazed at the door, nobody came. He groaned and sat back up, glancing at his bookshelf and considering rereading one of his books. It felt like he’d read them all a hundred times over and he didn’t want to revisit the imaginary land of America for the umpteenth time. 

He hopped off of the bed and crept towards the door, pressing his ear against the wood. He didn’t hear anything so he slowly pulled it open and peeked his head out. He looked between the two guards stationed outside of his room. 

“Uh, hi,” he greeted, only to be met with no response. “So, uh, what’s the news on that mage?”

“No new updates,” one of the guards said stiffly, her eyes still fixated forward. “You will be informed immediately upon any news being received, sir.” 

Finn wrinkled up his nose. “You don’t have to call me ‘sir’,” he mumbled. “Just Finn is fine.” 

“Very well.”

He sighed and leaned against the door-frame, tapping his foot impatiently. He couldn’t stand another second of being trapped in his room. He needed to  _ do  _ something or go somewhere. “Uh,” he tried to think of an excuse to leave. “I need to use the bathroom,” he lied, stepping into the hallway. “So, you stay right here and guard my room. I’ll be right back.” 

“We will accompany you,” one of the guards insisted, stepping forward to follow Finn. 

“Oh, that’s really not necessary,” Finn put his hands up and stepped back. “I’m sure that I can use the bathroom on my own, actually.”

The guard shook her head. “It is our duty to protect you.” 

“Right, but surely that doesn’t mean you have to follow me  _ everywhere _ , right?”

“At the moment, nowhere is safe.” 

“Right. Okay,” Finn kept his gaze fixated on the floor as he was escorted through the hallways, his cheeks heating up. As they turned a corner, Finn glanced up at a nearby window. He approached it and peeked out, gazing down upon the ground below. His brows knitted together as he saw a long line of people being escorted towards the dungeons. They were being led, one after the other, their hands tied in front of them as several guards oversaw the procession. Off to the side stood the queen herself. “Hold on a second,” he told the guards, dashing past them to make his way down the stairs, taking two at a time. 

“Hey, wait!” one of the guards called after him. “Slow down!” 

Finn ignored them and continued down the stairs and through a few hallways, making his way out the front door. He jogged towards his mother, watching the line of people make their way past and into the dungeons. “What’s going on?” 

The queen glanced down at her son, a slight frown forming at the corner of her lips. “You shouldn’t be here,” she remarked. “You’re supposed to be in your room.”

“I know, I know,” Finn waved her off. “But I saw something going on here and I wanted to see what it was,” he brushed his hair out of his face. “So, what’s going on?”

The queen sighed, turning her attention back to the ongoing line. “These people are mages from throughout the kingdom. We’re bringing them in for questioning.”

“What? Why?” Finn cocked his head to one side. “Wait, do you think that just because they’re mages, they know something about the mage that attacked during the ceremony?” 

“It’s possible,” the queen confirmed. “We can’t allow anything to go overlooked. Any information they might have is invaluable.” 

Finn stared up at his mother. “But why would they have any connection to that particular mage?” 

“People who are similar tend to stick together,” the queen explained. “Mages are likely to know other mages. Hopefully someone knows the mage who attacked.” 

“Oh,” that didn’t sound exactly right to Finn, but he didn’t really know enough to counter his mother’s argument. 

The guards from earlier came running up to the queen and prince, one of them looking a bit out of breath. “Your Majesty,” one of the guards stood up straighter and soluted the queen. “We apologize for allowing the prince out of our sight.” 

The queen rose an unamused eyebrow, turning to face the guards. “I expect you to perform your duties properly. Allowing my son to wander about, putting himself in danger, is a clear shirking of the duties that my husband and I have entrusted in you.” 

“Yes, ma’am. We are terribly sorry, ma’am.” 

The queen opened her mouth to speak again, but she was cut off by a commotion coming from the line of mages. 

“I don’t have to go anywhere I don’t want to!” Finn turned his head in time to see one of the mages swing at the guard who was escorting her. The guard nimbly dodged the attack and unsheathed their sword, placing the tip against the mage’s neck. She glared at him stiffly, her dark eyes unflinching. 

“You’d do well to back down,” the guard warned. 

“Why should I?” the mage challenged. “I’m being arrested for no reason whatsoever. I demand to be released.”

“The king and queen have demanded the arrest of all mages for questioning,” the guard explained calmly and clearly. “If you behave yourself, you’ll be asked a few questions and then be released. If you keep this up, we’re going to have to hold you for longer for resisting arrest.” 

The mage growled under her breath. “Go ahead, arrest me for demanding my rights!” she snapped. “I’m not going willingly!” 

She turned to march away, but the guard put their sword against her back, causing her to reluctantly turn around and be led towards the dungeons. The expression on her face was one of pure rage. Finn couldn’t help staring as she was ushered past, her pink hair falling in dreads down her back. 

“What’s going to happen to her?” Finn asked his mother, glancing over at the queen. 

The queen sighed. “She’ll be questioned like the others,” she said, “and then she’ll be imprisoned for resisting arrest,” she shook her head in disappointment. 

“Do you think she really knows something about the mage who attacked?” Finn asked. “Is that why she’s fighting back against the guards?”

“We can’t ignore that possibility,” the queen said calmly. “In fact, I’d say that it’s rather probable.” 

Finn nodded in understanding, leaning forward in an attempt to catch another glimpse of the mage, but she had already disappeared into the dungeons. His mind was abuzz with questions and curiosity. He wanted to see more of the mage, wanted to know what she knew. He hadn’t been able to get thoughts of the storm mage who attacked out of his head and this pink-haired mage could hold the answers Finn sought. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a hand being placed on his shoulder. He spun around and was faced with the guards once again. 

“Your royal highness, it’s time to return to your room,” one of the guards said, leading Finn back towards the castle. Finn allowed himself to be steered back to his room, glancing over his shoulder in one last attempt to spy the pink-haired mage. He was unsuccessful. 

Later that night, Finn was laying back in his bed, staring at the ceiling and allowing his mind to wander. His thoughts continued to drift back to the pink-haired mage. What did she know about the storm mage that had attacked? It was possible that she didn’t know anything at all, but Finn’s mother seemed to think otherwise. Finn sighed and sat up, remembering the rage in the pink-haired mage’s eyes as the guard tried to force her towards the dungeon. She might have been trying to protect her master or could have just been trying to protect herself. Finn doubted that his parents would tell him what was going on in terms of what they were learning about the attack. They hadn’t told him anything so far; instead, just locking him in his room to wait it out. 

He groaned and pulled a pillow over his face, screaming into it. He felt so helpless and useless. He just wanted to help get to the bottom of the attack. He and his siblings were the ones who had been threatened, after all. He had the right to know what was going on and how to fix it. He slipped out of bed, tossing the pillow to the side and stretching. He tiptoed towards the door, pressing his ear to the door and listening for the sound of the guards stationed outside. He heard them murmuring to one another and he sighed, stepping back. He wouldn’t be able to leave his room through the front door. 

He glanced back at the window in his wall, an idea springing to mind. He grinned to himself as he stripped his bed of its sheets and blankets, tying them all together in a long line. He then tied the end to his bedpost. He opened the window, letting the cool night air to enter the room. He threw the other end of the bedsheets out the window and gave it a firm tug, making sure that it was secured in place where it was tied to his bed. He slowly made his way out of the window, glad that his room was only on the second floor. He held on tight to the makeshift rope, easing his way down with his feet planted firmly on the outside wall. He slowly eased down and down and down, until he ran out of sheet. He glanced down and decided that the ground wasn’t too far down. He took a breath and jumped, grunting as his ankles slipped out from under him. 

He caught himself with his hands and struggled to his feet, wiping his dirty hands off on his pajama pants. He looked around to make sure that nobody saw his daring escape before dashing towards the entrance to the dungeons. He pulled open the door and slipped inside, slowly and quietly making his way down the stone stairs. He followed the spiral staircase down deeper and deeper underground until he reached the bottom. He was faced with four guards maintaining their post, who immediately stood at attention upon seeing Finn. 

“Your Royal Highness,” one of the guards bowed politely. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, uh,” Finn hadn’t thought of what to do if anyone questioned him. “I’m here to- uh- well, you see-” 

“Finn?” Finn turned around to see Henrietta walking down the stairs with a plate of food. Finn swallowed thickly, knowing that he was caught. Henreitta looked between Finn and the guards and sighed. “I told you to wait for me  _ outside  _ of the dungeon. I spent ages waiting for you.”

“You..did?” Finn blinked in confusion, not understanding what Henrietta was talking about. She had never said anything about waiting for him outside of the dungeon. 

Henrietta rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to join me in feeding the prisoners, you need to be where I tell you to be.” 

It suddenly occurred to Finn that his cousin was covering for him. “Oh! Oh, okay. Right. I understand,” he nodded quickly. 

“Good,” Henrietta walked past Finn and towards the guards. “Finn will be accompanying me while I feed one of the prisoners.”

“For what purpose?” 

Henrietta rose an eyebrow. “I don’t believe that I or the prince have to answer to you.” 

“Yes. Yes, of course, Your Royal Highness,” the guard bowed in submission. Henrietta may not have had much of a royal title, but being a member of the royal family still had its perks. 

“Good,” Henrietta nodded. “Come along, Finn,” she called to her cousin as she made her way past the guards and towards the cells. Finn quickly followed behind her, jogging to catch up. He glanced behind his shoulders to make sure the guards weren’t following. When it was clear that they weren’t, he sighed in relief. 

“Thank you,” he told his cousin, grateful for her help. “You really saved me there.” 

Henrietta rolled her eyes. “What are you doing down here anyway?” she questioned. “Your parents will kill me if they find out I covered for you.”

“I wanted to see the pink-haired mage. I want to find out what she knows about the mage who attacked during my ceremony.” 

“It wasn’t just  _ your  _ ceremony, Finn. It was a ceremony for the good of the kingdom. I doubt it was personal.” 

“It felt personal. They threatened me and my siblings,” Finn insisted. “Remember what they said? ‘Keep your children close’. That’s what they said to my parents.” 

Henrietta shrugged. “It was probably just a vague threat made to scare them.

“But they implied that I wasn’t the rightful heir.” 

“That’s just because they want the power that you’re getting as heir. They think that they’re more entitled to it for some reason or another. It doesn’t mean that they actually have a claim or that you’re not rightfully the heir. It’s all just a bunch of things said to scare your parents. Honestly, that mage was probably harmless.”

Finn frowned. “I just don’t trust it. Someone  _ attacked  _ the kingdom and threatened me and my family. I can’t just let that go.” 

“If you say so.” 

The two of them stopped in front of a cell. Finn peered in and spotted the pink-haired mage sitting with her back against the stone wall. She slowly looked up, her hair hanging in her face. She rose an eyebrow and adjusted her glasses so they fit further up her nose. One of the lenses were cracked and she had a bruise on her cheek, giving her a pitiable appearance. Finn’s heart went out to her and he decided to talk to the guards about treating the prisoners better. She didn’t deserve to be hurt, even if she had caused a bit of a fuss. 

“Can I help you?” she asked, her tone harsh and arms crossed over her chest. 

“Oh, uh,” Finn couldn’t help staring at her. She seemed so young, couldn’t be that much older than Finn himself. She didn’t  _ look  _ like a criminal, but if she was innocent, why would she fight the guards?

Henrietta rolled her eyes at Finn’s inability to respond. “We come with food,” she held out the tray she had brought with her, kneeling down to slide it through the small hole in the bars. 

The pink-haired mage accepted the tray and looked at the food offered to her. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and fixed Henrietta with an incredulous look. “You call this food?” 

“It’s what you’re getting,” Henrietta shrugged, not seeming to care much about what the mage thought of it. “If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.” 

The mage rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” she muttered sarcastically, glancing between Henrietta and Finn. “Am I so special that I need two people to bring me food? I’m honored.” 

“Don’t think so highly of yourself,” Henrietta crossed her arms. “My cousin here is just going around and asking several of the prisoners questions.” 

“I am?” Finn looked at Henrietta in surprise. He’d only intended to question this mage. When met with a glare from his cousin, Finn felt his cheeks heat up as he realized that she was simply lying to the prisoner. “Oh! I mean, I am,” he nodded quickly, his head jerking up and down. 

The mage snorted, clearly not believing the lie for a second. “Sure,” she smirked, leaning back. “Well, I’ve already been questioned. No need to go through it all again.”

“I haven’t questioned you yet,” Finn pointed out. “So you’re going to have to go through it again,” he tried to sound tough and imposing, hoping that the mage would listen to him. 

The mage lifted an eyebrow, not appearing impressed by Finn’s attitude. “Sure, alright. What do you want to know?” 

“Well,” Finn wasn’t actually entirely certain of where to begin. “Uh, what’s your name?”

“Merlyn,” the mage introduced herself. “Merlyn Mayberry, at your service.” 

“Merlyn,” Finn repeated. “That’s an interesting name.”

“I’d hope so. I picked it myself.” 

“What kind of mage are you?”

“I’m a water mage. Proudly so.” 

“Do you know the storm mage who attacked the kingdom?”   


The mage - Merlyn - sighed deeply. “Really? This again? Do you really think all mages know each other? That’s a little closed-minded, don’t you think?” 

“Oh, well,” Finn’s cheeks burned. “I just thought-”

“Finn, she’s messing with you,” Henrietta pointed out, attempting to hide the hints of a smile. 

“Oh.” 

Merlyn laughed. “You’re really easy to mess with.” 

“He really is,” Henrietta agreed with a slight smirk. “Not that you should be messing with him, though.”

“How else am I going to get any entertainment? I’m locked in a cell, in case you’ve forgotten,” Merlyn noted, gesturing vaguely to her surroundings. 

“Good point,” Henrietta shrugged. 

“You seem harder to mess with,” Merlyn hummed, eyeing Henrietta. “But I would mess with you anytime,” she winked.

Finn suddenly felt rather uncomfortable and awkward, looking between the two women. He cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets. “Well, uh, I think it’s about time for me to go to bed,” he decided. “Thank you for your help,” Finn had pretty much decided that the mage was innocent.

“What’s the matter? Can’t handle your cousin being flirted with?” Merlyn teased, a grin across her face. 

“I, uh, well-” 

Henrietta put a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get going,” she told him, glancing back at Merlyn. “I’ll be back to feed you in the morning.” 

“I look forward to it,” Merlyn said, waving goodbye as Finn and Henrietta made their way down the hallway and past the long line of cells. 

They turned the corner to where the guards should be stationed, but when they arrived, they were all asleep. Finn’s eyes widened. “What the-”

Henrietta’s grip on his shoulder tightened and she spun back towards the cells. “Someone’s here.”


	3. Chapter 3

Finn’s heart sped up in his chest. “Someone’s here?” he questioned, glancing between the unconscious bodies of the guards back to Henrietta’s face. “What do you mean? Who’s here?” 

“I don’t know. Be quiet,” Henrietta hissed, carefully looking around. She stepped over one of the guards and patted him down. “His keys are missing,” she murmured. “You stay here and keep an eye out. I’m going to fetch some other guards.” 

“O-Okay,” Finn swallowed and nodded slowly. “I can do that.”

“Good,” Henrietta dashed up the stairs and towards the exit of the dungeons, leaving Finn alone with the prisoners, the unconscious guards, and possibly some unknown person. He suddenly regretted allowing Henrietta to leave without him. He became hyper aware of the sounds that the prisoners were making, hearing the noises acho against the stone walls. He whistled awkwardly, trying to create a sound that wouldn’t terrify him. 

He paused for a breath in between his whistling when he heard the creaking sound of a cell door being opened. He froze up, not knowing what to do. He slowly crept around the corner and towards the cells, peeking out in time to see a figure slip out of a cell and jog towards Merlyn’s cell. Finn could hear the figure whispering in a hushed tone to Merlyn. 

“Hey, I’ve got the keys,” the figure murmured. “We’re getting you out of here.” 

Finn didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to confront the figure? Was he supposed to quietly run away? What would be expected up him? He gathered his courage and took a breath, stepping out and into the hallway of cells. “Hey!” he called out. “Stop right there!” 

The figure spun around to look at Finn. They hesitated for just a moment before turning and running in the opposite direction. Finn took off after them without fully knowing why. He just chased them down, breathing heavily as he ran past cells upon cells, some empty and some containing prisoners. The prisoners began to call out, some cheering on the mysterious figure, some asking to be freed, and others slinging slurs at Finn. Finn tried to block them all out, focusing on running after the figure. He ran until the figure reached the end of the hall, finding themself blocked by a wall. The figure turned around, back pressed against the wall as Finn approached. Upon closer inspection, Finn realized that the figure was nothing more than a young boy, maybe a few years younger than Finn. 

Finn panted as he moved closer to the boy, standing up tall and attempting to appear more put together than he was. “Stop right there,” he demanded, wincing internally at how his voice wavered slightly. “You’re cornered.” 

“Please don’t hurt me,” the boy pleaded, slowly sinking to his knees. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone! I was just trying to help my friend! Please don’t hurt me!” his eyes started to fill with tears behind his glasses. “I didn’t mean to do anything wrong.” 

Finn stared at the boy in surprise, not having expected him to break down crying. “Uh,” he wasn’t sure of how to respond. “Please don’t cry.” 

The boy didn’t stop crying. Tears trickled down his cheeks and slid down his chin, falling to the floor. Finn heard footsteps approach and he turned back, catching sight of Henrietta leading several guards down the hallway. 

“Is this the person who incapacitated the guards?” one of the guards asked. 

“It appears to be,” Henrietta nodded. “Arrest him.” 

“Wait!” the boy put his hands up. “I surrender. I surrender. I’m sorry.”

Two guards grabbed one of the boy’s arms each, lifting him to his feet and marching him towards a cell. They threw him into the cell beside Merlyn’s, slamming the cell door shut and locking the door after taking the keys he had stolen away from him. 

“There’s no need to hurt him,” Finn said, not wishing any harm on the boy. “Be gentle.” 

One of the guards fixed their gaze on the boy. “How did you get in here?”

“I just walked in,” the boy said quickly, all too eager to spill his secrets. “I walked in and offered the guards some wine that I poisoned with a strong sedative. It was just meant to make them go to sleep for a little bit so I could do what I needed to do. I didn’t know that there were other people in here, so when I saw them, I panicked and slipped into an empty cell while they weren’t paying attention,” he rambled. 

Finn moved in front of the guards. “Who are you?” he asked the boy. “What were you trying to do and why?” 

“My name is Hansel Stone,” the boy said hurriedly. “I was just trying to free my friend because she was arrested without cause. I just wanted her to come home,” his eyes refilled with tears. “That’s all.”

Finn studied the boy carefully.”Is your friend the mage called ‘Merlyn’?” 

The boy nodded, his head jerking up and down in a quick motion. “Merlyn’s my best friend. I just wanted to help her in any way I could.” 

“So, what kind of mage are you, then?” 

“Huh?” 

“What kind of mage are you? Are you a water mage, like her?” Finn questioned, his arms crossed in front of his chest in an attempt to appear more imposing. “Or are you a storm mage?” the boy was much shorter than the mage who attacked during the ceremony and a bit lighter in skin tone, but that could be excused. This very well could be the mage who attacked. 

The boy shook his head vigorously. “I’m not a mage,” he said. “I’m a witch.” 

“You’re a what?” 

“I’m a witch, not a mage.” 

“Witches aren’t real.” 

“They are too!” the boy looked offended. “It’s not like the witches in storybooks. It’s about belief, intent, and practice.” 

“If you’re a witch, put a spell on me right now,” Finn challenged. 

The boy huffed. “It doesn’t work like that!” he insisted. “First of all, you need ingredients and focus, and even then, it’s not like I can turn you into a frog or something. I don’t do spells on specific people anyway.”

“What can you do, then?” Finn challenged. 

“I can do small things with the right ingredients like do a spell that will bring more luck into my life or a spell that will strengthen my bond with someone.”

“That sounds...” Finn tried to find the right word.

“Fake?” Henrietta suggested. 

“It’s not fake!” the boy protested. “It’s not. It’s just not as obvious as the type of magic mages have.” 

“It sounds fake,” Henrietta shrugged. “But whatever. It doesn’t matter what you are; you still broke into the royal dungeon and tried to help a prisoner escape. That’s a  _ crime.”  _

“I know. I know that and I’m sorry,” the boy sniffled, wiping at his eyes. “It won’t happen again.” 

“You’re right; it won’t, because you’re staying in this dungeon for the rest of the foreseeable future,” Henrietta told him, turning to leave and gesturing for the guards to follow her. 

Finn blinked, his cousin’s words sinking in. “Wait, what?” he jogged after her. “You’re just going to leave him in here forever?” 

“He broke the law. He should have known that there would be consequences for that,” Henrietta said coldly. 

“But look at him; he’s only a kid!” Finn argued, gesturing towards the boy. He looked back at him. “How old are you?” 

“Seventeen.”

“He’s seventeen!” Finn whirled back to Henrietta. “He’s only a kid. He’s a year younger than me. He can’t be locked up for the rest of his life.” 

“He should have thought about that before breaking into the royal dungeon,” Henrietta sighed. “I doubt that he’s being honest about his motivations. He and that water mage might both be working for the storm mage who attacked during the ceremony.” 

Finn was uncertain. “I doubt that,” he murmured. “Merlyn was nice and this boy doesn’t seem like he’d be much use to a mage.”

“Fine. Even if he  _ wasn’t  _ lying, it’s still a crime and we don’t just let people go when they commit crimes.” 

“But-”

“He’s staying here, Finn. End of discussion.” 

Finn sighed, looking back at the boy in the cell. “Okay, fine. But I want to come with you when you bring him his dinner tomorrow night.” 

“Fine, fine. Whatever,” Henrietta agreed. “Sure.”

“Okay. Okay, good,” Finn followed her out of the dungeon, stepping outside only to be faced by the king and queen themselves. 

“Finn Kumar Ryle,” his mother began, causing him to wince. “What do you think you’re doing here? You’re supposed to be accompanied by guards at all times and you are not to leave your room at all after dark.” 

“I know, but-”

“Dione, perhaps we shouldn’t be too hard on him,” the king put a gentle hand on his wife’s arm. “He’s been through a lot tonight.” 

“He wouldn’t have gone through anything if he’d stayed in his room,” the queen pointed out, her tone unyielding. “Explain yourself,” she demanded of her son. 

Finn sighed. “I just felt left out of the loop,” he explained quietly. “Someone attacked during  _ my  _ ceremony, threatened me and  _ my  _ siblings, and challenged  _ my  _ right to the throne, but no one is telling me anything about it. I wanted to see if I could find out anything.”

Henrietta sighed. “It’s my fault. I told him that he could come with me while I fed one of the prisoners.” 

“Why were you feeding the prisoners?” the king asked. “That’s not one of your duties.” 

Henrietta’s face suddenly began to turn pink. “Oh, well, you see,” she ducked her head. “I saw the pink-haired mage and I,” she mumbled something inaudible. 

“What was that? Speak up,” the queen requested.

Henrietta cleared her throat and refused to meet anyone’s gaze. “I said that I thought she was attractive.” 

Finn stared at his cousin before letting out a laugh. “You took food to the prisoners because you thought Merlyn was attractive?” he asked with a grin. 

“Shut up!” she snapped, her hands balling into fists at her sides and her entire face turning an ugly red color. 

The king chuckled under his breath. “It’s alright. When I was younger, I did worse things for similar reasons.” 

The queen rolled her eyes and sighed. “Still, Emyr will want to know about this.” 

“No, wait,” Henrietta protested. “Please don’t tell my father.” 

The king squeezed his wife’s hand. “Now, now, Dione. Henrietta didn’t cause any harm. In fact, her presence led to the arrest of a criminal. I don’t see any reason for my brother to be told about this.” 

“He deserves to know,” the queen argued. “Both of you, come with me,” she told Henrietta and Finn before turning to return to the palace. 

Finn and Henrietta shared a look before trailing after her. The queen led them up a flight of stairs and down a hallway, stopping in front of a door to knock. They waited a moment before the door was pulled open to reveal Finn’s uncle, Emyr. 

“What’s going on? Is everything alright?” he questioned, looking between the queen, Henrietta, and Finn. 

“Your daughter snuck out to give food to one of our prisoners,” the queen informed him. “She had no permission to do so and she also aided my son in sneaking out.” 

Emyr continued looking at the queen expectantly. A long silence followed. “Oh, is that it?” 

“While the two of them were in the dungeons, someone broke in and could have seriously harmed them,” the queen explained. 

“It was a teenager. Not even a mage,” Henrietta muttered under her breath. “I doubt he could have hurt anybody if he tried.” 

Emyr made a vague gesture in his daughter’s direction. “There you go,” he told the queen. “They’re unharmed. No harm no foul.” 

“They  _ snuck out _ during a very dangerous time,” the queen told him. “They broke the rules and put themselves in danger.” 

Emyr shrugged. “But they’re alright. That’s what’s important.”

“How you choose to discipline or not discipline your child is not of my concern. I just thought I should bring the matter to your attention,” the queen explained. 

“Well, she’s hardly a child anymore,” Emyr pointed out. “She’s an adult and can make her own decisions.”

The queen sighed. “As you say.” 

Emyr nodded and reached to wrap an arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “I say that as long as no one was hurt, it’s fine. If she wants to help feed the prisoners, I see no problem with that.” 

The queen nodded. “Very well. Finn, come with me,” she gestured for him to follow. 

She led her son back to his room, explaining the situation to the guards, who were confused when they saw that Finn was no longer in his room. She then turned to her son and he braced himself for a long lecture. 

“Finn,” she began, “I know that you know that what you did was wrong, but you also helped bring a prisoner to justice and I’m proud of you,” she said, causing Finn to look up hopefully. “However, you also disobeyed me and your father. We put these rules in place for your safety. What if something had happened to you?” 

“I can take care of myself, Ma,” Finn insisted rather weakly. “I’m an adult. I don’t need to be kept under lock and key.”

“A threat was made against you. We have every right to want to ensure that you’re safe,” she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “You’re our son.”

Finn sighed. “I know that, but I’m also the heir to the kingdom. I have the right to know what’s going on, especially if it’s about the safety of the kingdom.”

“You’re right,” the queen removed her hand from Finn’s shoulder. “You’re right and I’m sorry for being overprotective. From here on out, you have permission to travel without a guard escort and we will update you on any news about the storm mage.”

Finn was surprised by his mother’s sudden change of attitude. “Really?” he asked. “You mean it?” 

She nodded. “I do.”

“Thank you,” he said, reaching and pulling his mother into a tight hug. “Thank you for trusting me.”

She rubbed his back gently. “Well, I figured that you deserve a little trust at this point,” she pulled away just enough to place a kiss upon his forehead. She brought her hand up to cup his face, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. “I love you, Finn.” 

“I love you too, Ma,” he smiled and watched as she left, dismissing the guards on her way out. 

***

The next day, Finn walked freely throughout the palace, grinning to himself and enjoying the freedom of not being watched over by a guard at all times. He stuck his hands in his pockets and just wandered around, whistling to himself. He turned a corner and nearly smacked into his younger sister, who was walking past with a guard on either side. 

“Finn?” she blinked at her brother. “Where’re your guards? You could get in trouble for being without them, you know.” 

Finn shook his head. “I don’t have to have them,” he explained. “I’m an adult and the heir to the kingdom, so Ma decided that I don’t need them.” 

“Oh,” Thana smiled brightly. “That’s good, then! You can do whatever you want!”

Finn shrugged. “Well, not  _ whatever _ I want, but I can at least do things without someone looking over my shoulder all the time.” 

“Good. I’m happy for you,” she said cheerfully. “Where are you going to go?” 

“I haven’t decided yet. I might play a ball game with Fiarello.” 

“You want to play with an eleven-year-old?” Thana wrinkled up her nose. “Why would you want to do that?”

“It’s not like I have many other people to play with,” Finn pointed out. “There’s no one my age in the castle.” 

“I guess that’s true. It’s sweet that you’re so nice to them.” 

“You think so?” 

“Mhm! They probably don’t have many friends,” she reasoned. “So it’s really nice that you play with them.” 

“I guess,” Finn shrugged modestly. “It doesn’t really feel like that big of a deal.” 

“I just think it’s nice of you,” she said, tucking a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. 

“Yeah. Well, I should be going.” 

“Oh. Alright,” her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ll talk to you later?”

“Sure thing. Bye,” Finn waved as he took off down the hallway, not looking back at his sister. He made his way to the small shack on the palace grounds, knocking firmly on the door. 

The door creaked open and the gardener stood in the doorway. “Hello? Oh, Prince Finn, how lovely to see you.” 

“Hello, Mr. Flores,” Finn greeted. “Is Fiarello home? I was hoping we could play that ball game we played the other day.”

“Is it safe?” the gardener asked. “Has that mage been caught yet?” 

“Oh, uh,” Finn hesitated. “Well, no, the mage hasn’t been caught or identified yet, but I don’t think it would do any harm to just play outside for a little bit. We’d still be on the palace grounds.” 

Mr. Flores sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a great idea. It just isn’t safe. You understand, don’t you?”

“Oh. Yeah, I get it. It’s fine. Thanks anyway,” Finn stood still as the gardener swung the door shut. He sighed and walked away, trying to think of something else to do. It wasn’t as if there were other people anywhere near his age around except for the prisoners. 

He stopped in his tracks. The prisoners. He could go ahead and talk with them. He changed course from wandering around aimlessly, turning towards the dungeons. He was approaching the dungeons when he spotted Cato emerging from within. Cato was the royal adviser and was the named heir before Finn received the title. He was a deadly serious man with a deadly serious expression on his face at all times. He rarely ever spoke to Finn or Finn’s siblings, not seeming to like children all that much. 

The man stepped out of the dungeons and spoke in hushed tones with the guards. Finn slowly approached in time to catch a few words. 

“...a close eye on the pink-haired one as well as the one who broke in. They know more than they’re letting on.”

Finn stopped in his tracks, trying to listen in. He wanted to hear as much as he could about Merlyn and Hansel, as they were the ones Finn was most interested in. As soon as he stopped; however, Cato spun around, his face pulled into a scowl. 

“What are ya lookin’ at?” Cato questioned, his tone just as serious as his expression. 

“Nothing!” Finn said quickly, taking several steps back. 

Cato looked Finn up and down, eyeing him closely. “Whatchu doin’ here?” he demanded. “Ya give your guards the slip again?” 

He quickly shook his head, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “No!” he insisted, his hands up in surrender. “No, my parents said I don’t need a guard anymore,” he explained hurriedly. “I’m just here to question the prisoners. I’m allowed to do that,” that wasn’t explicitly stated to be true by his parents, but Cato didn’t need to know that. 

“Hmph,” the man looked skeptical. “I wouldn’t bother. They won’t tell ya anythin’ if they know what’s good for ‘em.” 

Finn wasn’t entirely certain what Cato meant by that, but he was too afraid to question him. He just nodded and hurried past him, slipping into the dungeons. He took a breath and gathered his courage, making his way down the stairs and towards the cells. 


	4. Chapter 4

Finn took the stairs one step at a time, slowly following the spiral into the earth. He greeted the guards stationed at the bottom of the stairs who let him pass without issue. He turned the corner and walked past several cells until reaching the cell where Merlyn was being held. 

The pink-haired mage lifted her head and offered Finn and easy grin. “Heyo,” she waved in greeting. “What brings you here on this fine…” she paused. “Actually, I have no idea what time of day it is. This place doesn’t exactly have windows.”

“Even if it did, it’s underground, so you wouldn’t be able to tell anyway,” came a voice from the cell beside Merlyn’s. Finn glanced over to see Hansel sitting on the floor of his cell with his knees tucked against his chest. 

Finn nodded. “He’s right,” he confirmed before realizing that he was being far too casual with these prisoners. “I mean, not that it matters. You’ll be lucky if you ever see the light of day again.” 

Merlyn snorted, not even bothering to disguise it as a cough, as most people did. “Wow, I’m so scared,” she mocked sarcastically. “Look, you can’t keep us in here forever. We didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“You resisted arrest,” Finn pointed out, “and your friend here literally poisoned guards and broke into the dungeons with intent to free a criminal.” 

“I’m sorry about that,” Hansel insisted, his voice full of anxiety. “I was just trying to help my friend. That’s all.” 

Finn approached Hansel’s cell, peering in at the boy. “How did you even have the knowledge to poison the guards in the first place? That’s some pretty deadly knowledge.” 

“It wasn’t deadly!” he squeaked. “It was just a sedative! I knew it wouldn’t kill them!” 

“Still. How did you know that?” 

“I’m a witch. I know a lot about plants and herbs and things and their properties. It’s just something that witches know.” 

Finn studied him closely, not fully believing him, but he didn’t know enough about witches to refute it. “Hm,” he watched Hansel closely. The poor boy looked terrified as Finn stared into him. “You must care about your friend a great deal to risk everything like you did.” 

“I do!” Hansel nodded in a jerky motion. “She’s all I have. Well, her and Hazel.”

“Hazel? Who’s Hazel?” 

“She’s Merlyn’s-” he stopped mid-sentence. “Friend. She’s Merlyn’s friend.”

Merlyn cleared her throat from the cell over. “She’s not my  _ friend _ , she’s my partner.” 

“Partner?” Finn returned to stand in front of Merlyn’s cell. “What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “I mean that she’s my partner. Romantic partner.” 

“Oh,” Finn flushed. “Is she a mage too? Or a witch?” 

“She’s both, actually,” Merlyn shrugged, brushing her dreads behind her shoulder. “Not that it’s any of your business.” 

“Has she been interrogated yet?” Finn questioned. “Is she a storm mage?” 

Merlyn scowled. “Look, I’m not telling you anything about her, alright? You can do whatever you want to me, but you’re not touching her,” her voice was suddenly deadly serious. “She hasn’t done anything to you.” 

Finn was taken aback by Merlyn’s seriousness. “Oh. Okay,” he tried not to appear too intimidated. He went back to Hansel. “What do you mean that they’re all you have?” he asked. “Where are your parents?” 

“Gone,” the boy looked away, his dirty-blond hair falling to cover his eyes slightly. “They’re not around anymore.” 

“Oh,” Finn wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry.” 

Hansel shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s been awhile.” 

Finn shifted, feeling horrible for bringing up Hansel’s family in the first place. He bit his lip and stared at the ground. “Well…” he trailed off, unsure of what to do. 

“Please don’t look so sad. It makes me feel sad,” Hansel said. “Hey, what makes you smile?” 

“What?”

“What makes you smile?” Hansel urged. “Like, what makes you happy?” 

“Oh, uh,” Finn blinked. “I’m not sure.” 

“Music? Does music make you happy? People like music,” the boy rambled awkwardly. “I could sing something for you.”

“Oh, no. You don’t have to-”

“Oh, he absolutely has to,” Merlyn piped up. “You’ll absolutely  _ love  _ his singing.” 

Hansel blushed. “Well, if it will make you happy, I might as well,” he reasoned. He opened his mouth and started singing. It was horribly off-key and scratchy. Finn winced and fought the urge to cover his ears. The song seemed to go on and on forever and Finn wondered if it would ever end. Hansel eventually quieted down and finished the son, much to Finn’s relief. 

Merlyn put her hands together in applause. “Bravo! Bravo! Encore!” 

“No!” Finn said quickly. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ve heard enough to make me happy.” 

Hansel broke into a grin. “Really?” it was clear that he genuinely had no clue of how bad he sounded when he sang. Merlyn had apparently never told him. 

Finn opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the right thing to say. “Well, I’m not sad anymore,” he said eventually. It was true; he was no longer bummed about Hansel’s parents. 

“Good!” Hansel beamed. “Why don’t you tell us more about you?” 

“About me?” Finn stared at him a moment. “Well, wait, I’m supposed to be questioning you.” 

Hansel shrugged. “I don’t think we have much more to say,” he admitted. “And we’re stuck down here with nothing better to do.”

“Oh, well, that’s true,” Finn agreed, thinking for a moment. “Well, my name is Finn Ryle. I’m the eldest prince of the Inforian kingdom. I’m the heir to the throne.”

“That’s impressive!” Hansel chirped. “I imagine that you have a lot of responsibilities,” he adjusted his glasses on his face. 

Finn shrugged. “Not really. I don’t actually do all that much. It’s mostly an empty title.” 

“I doubt that. You’re probably just not giving yourself enough credit,” Hansel said. 

“Honestly, I just don’t have much to do. My parents take care of most things. Them or Cato.” 

“Who’s Cato?” Merlyn asked from her cell. 

“Oh, he’s the royal adviser,” Finn explained. “He gives my parents council and things like that. I’m not entirely certain of what exactly he does, but he’s apparently important.” 

“What’s he like?” Hansel tilted his head.

“Serious,” Finn admitted. “Deadly serious. All the time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man smile and I’ve known since I was born.” 

Hansel cracked a smile. “I hate people like that,” he made a face, sticking out his tongue. “I don’t get how people can act like there’s no fun in the world at all.” 

“Right?” Finn agreed. “It’s ridiculous. Like, I get that his job is important and all, but I’d hope that he’d at least have a soul.” 

Hansel laughed. It was a tiny thing, barely audible under his breath. “Maybe he got the soul sucked out of him,” he joked. “I’ve heard of jobs that can do that.” 

“I doubt anything would want his soul,” Finn laughed. “It’s probably bitter and decayed. Not good at all.” 

Merlyn let out a snort. It seemed that she snorted more often than she laughed. “Sounds like a real ray of sunshine,” she said sarcastically. 

“You don’t know the half of it,” Finn shook his head “He used to get me into trouble for just doing normal kid things when I was younger. He still gets onto Uri for just having fun.” 

Hansel looked up at him. “Who’s Uri?” 

“Oh, he’s my little brother,” Finn explained. “He’s twelve and he’s pretty hyper. He’s super sweet, though.” 

“Oh, you have siblings?” Hansel sounded so surprised. “I didn’t know that.” 

“Yeah, I have two,” Finn confirmed. “Uri and Thana. They’re pretty alright. They can be really annoying sometimes, but I live with them,” he shrugged. “What about you? Do you have any siblings?”

Hansel shook his head. “Nope. Never did.”

“Me neither,” Merlyn added. “I’m an only child and glad of it.” 

“Must be nice,” Finn suggested, leaning against the stone wall. “I love my siblings, but they can be such a pain sometimes. Well, a lot of the time, really.” 

“I dunno,” Hansel pushed his hair back. “I always wanted a sibling. I thought it would be nice to have someone who was always there for you, no matter what.” 

“Is that what you think having a sibling is like?” Finn laughed. “It’s closer to fighting the urge to strangle them most of the time.” 

“Oh,” Hansel looked disappointed. “That doesn’t sound very loving.” 

Finn shrugged. “It’s how family works. Or; at least, how it works for my family.”

He suddenly realized how easily he was talking to these two prisoners. These people were threats to the kingdom and here he was, carrying a conversation with them. He was shocked by how  _ easy  _ it was. He didn’t speak this comfortably around his own parents. He suddenly pushed himself off of the wall and stood straighter. “Uh, I should go.”

“Aw. Already?” an expression of hurt passed over Hansel’s face. “You’ll come back, won’t you?”

“Oh, I-”

“You better,” Merlyn demanded. “We’re going to go out of our mind with boredom otherwise.”

“I-” he hesitated. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll come back.”

“Good,” Finn could hear the smile in Merlyn’s voice. “Also, tell the girl you were with last night to keep coming.”

“Merlyn!” Hansel hissed. 

“What? She’s cute.” 

***

Finn started visiting the dungeons daily just to talk to Merlyn and Hansel. They were easy to talk to; far easier than anyone else Finn knew. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were closer to Finn in age than most others, or maybe it was just because Finn hadn’t known them for his entire life. They were interesting, they were funny, they were captivating. It wasn’t long before Finn began to consider them to be his friends, as stupid as that sounded. What kind of prince befriended prisoners? 

Even though Finn had his reservations about actually addressing the prisoners as his friends, he genuinely believed that they had no business being locked up in the first place. Hansel and Merlyn were good people despite their mistakes. They didn’t deserve to be imprisoned. 

Night fell and Finn exited his room, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. It wasn’t that he wasn’t allowed to visit the dungeons, it was just that he’d rather not have anyone questioning why he chose to do so. He walked as softly as possible through the halls, slowing his breathing so it would be barely audible. As he approached a turn, he heard hushed whispers. He crept closer to the sound, his curiosity getting the better of him. He peered around the corner, catching sight of his sister and uncle whispering together. He couldn’t make out any of the words, so he tried to move closer, only to trip over his foot and fall forward. 

Thana jumped as Finn slid face-first across the floor. He peeked up at the other two, blinking several times. “Uh, hi,” he waved a bit from his place on the floor. 

“Don’t you know that it’s rude to spy on people?” Emyr rose an eyebrow, but his smile betrayed his lack of sincerity. He offered his nephew a hand to help him to his feet. “You almost ruined the surprise.” 

“Surprise?” Finn picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off. “What surprise?” 

Thana rolled her eyes. “If we told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it be?” she pointed out, crossing her arms. 

“Come now, Thana. I think we can trust him,” Emyr placed a hand on his niece's shoulder. Thana looked skeptical, but shrugged as if to say ‘it’s up to you’. “We’re planning a surprise for your father’s birthday.” 

Finn lit up. “You are? Can I help?” truth be told, Finn had completely forgotten that his father’s birthday was approaching so quickly. With everything going on with the storm mage and with Hansel and Merlyn, it had completely slipped his mind. If Thana and Emyr were planning something and Finn was included, he might not have to think of his own gift. 

“Of course you can help, kiddo!” Emyr ruffled Finn’s hair, causing it to stick up in several places. “We were just about to search the palace and see what we could find. Something nostalgic that he’s hopefully forgotten about. If there’s one thing I know about my brother, it’s that he likes holding onto the past.”

“Okay!” Finn beamed. “Where to first?” 

“We were going to try one of the old attics,” Emyr explained, a grin upon his lips. “Follow me.”

Emyr led Finn and Thana through several hallways, following the twists and turns of the palace. They eventually reached the top of the west tower after climbing a mountain of stairs. Finn was panting, a bit out of breath after having to scale so many steps. He looked around. He wasn’t usually allowed in the west tower, so he hadn’t been there often. He felt almost nervous being there. 

“Are you sure we should be here?” he asked. “I’m pretty sure that Dad doesn’t want us up here.” 

“This place holds a lot of memories,” Emyr said gently, a far-off look on his face. “Kian doesn’t come here because it hurts too much.” 

Finn didn’t understand, but he didn’t want to appear stupid. “Oh,” he followed his uncle as he pushed open a nearby door. Emyr gently stepped inside the room, gesturing for Thana and Finn to follow. Finn didn’t know what he expected to see once he entered, but what he didn’t expect was an ordinary room. The walls were painted white, the singular window was covered by pink curtains, and a simple, king-sized bed rested against one wall. Everything was neat and clean and there were nothing identifying who the room once belonged to. 

Emyr pulled a string that was dangling from the ceiling, lowering the stairs that led to the attic of the room. “Alright. Children first,” he gestured for Thana to go first. She did so and Finn followed after. 

“I’m not a child,” he murmured, but didn’t complain any more than that. He’d never been in this attic before and he didn’t know what to expect. What he found was the entire space cluttered with items. He found it difficult to maneuver with everything lying around. He pushed his way through, picking up a random blanket and throwing it aside. “So, what exactly are we looking for?”

“Something important to your father,” Emyr said. “If we’re going to find something that’s important to him, it’s going to be here.” 

Finn lifted a pearl necklace from the floor. “What even is this place? Who used to live here?” he tossed the necklace away. He saw something on the floor and reached down to pick it up. It was a golden locket with a silver trim. He opened it to reveal a miniature picture of a brown-skinned woman with dark hair falling around her shoulders. She carried a smile on her lips and a brightness in her eyes. Finn realized with a sinking feeling exactly who the room belonged to. 

“The former queen,” Emyr said, searching through the piles of stuff. “Before her death, she insisted on having her own room. She thought that having her own room allowed her a bit of the freedom taken from her when she became queen.” 

“Oh,” Finn stared at the miniature picture. It dawned on him that the woman in the portrait used to be alive, used to have a life of her own. Finn’s father used to love this woman and now she was just gone. Finn had never met her; of course, as she was the queen before his mother married his father. She had died in childbirth with the king’s first child and the child had died along with her. If she hadn’t died, she would still be queen and Finn and his siblings would never have been born. That child that she died giving birth to would be the heir to the throne. It was really weird to think about. 

He closed the locket and slipped it into his pocket, saving it for his father. His father rarely talked about the former queen, as there was too much pain that came with her loss, but maybe he just needed a reminder that she was still with him. There was no harm in him having something to remember her by. 

“You really think that he’ll want something from here?” Thana asked. “I feel like there’s a lot of bad memories here.” 

Emyr shook his head. “There are a lot of good memories too. If Kian didn’t want these things, he would have thrown them out. He’s just been too afraid to go through everything and decide what’s important to him. He’ll thank us for going through the trouble for him.” 

“Well, if you’re sure,” Thana picked up the blanket that Finn had discarded earlier. “What’s this? Why would the queen need a blanket so small?” 

Emyr glanced over. “Some things were made for the child,” he explained, his voice soft. He had a far-off look in his eye and he quickly looked away. 

“Oh,” Thana quickly dropped the blanket, looking as if she had touched something diseased. 

The three of them rifled through the items for at least an hour before giving up and leaving. Finn hadn’t found anything of interest outside of the locket. Emyr had found a portrait of the former queen and Thana had found the suit the king had worn on his wedding day. Overall, it wasn’t a terrible haul. 

“Well, I expected something more fruitful, but overall, that wasn’t bad,” Emyr announced, the portrait he had taken under his arm. “It’s getting late. The two of you should get to bed.” 

Thana pouted. “Aw, but I don’t wanna,” she whined. “I’ll go to bed tomorrow.”

“No, you’ll go to bed tonight,” Emyr put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your room,” he offered. 

Thana pouted, but agreed. The two of them walked off while Finn turned and headed back towards the dungeons. He greeted the guards and skipped down the steps, walking down the corridor and to Hansel and Merlyn’s cells. 

“Hi,” he greeted Hansel, who looked up from where he was eating his plate of mush. “Did Henrietta already come with your food?” 

Hansel nodded, swallowing down the bite he was currently chewing. “Yeah. She stayed and talked for awhile. It was nice.” 

“She mostly talked with me,” Merlyn said and Finn could hear the smirk in her voice. “I’d say we’re getting rather close.” 

“Okay, ew,” Finn wrinkled up his nose. “That’s my cousin you’re talking about.” 

Merlyn shrugged. “Hey, that’s not my fault,” she reasoned. “Don’t blame me for your cousin being cute.” 

Finn shook his head. “You’re so weird.” 

“Why thank you,” Merlyn remarked with a grin. 

Hansel giggled a bit under his breath. “You know, I’d hope that since we’re friends with the person who brings us food, that we’d get better food,” he stuck a spoon in the slop that passed as sustinece. “Unfortunately not.” 

Finn frowned. “You shouldn’t have to eat that,” he murmured. “You deserve better than that mess.”

Hansel shrugged. “It’s just what we have to eat for as long as we’re in here.”

“Yeah, but you shouldn’t be here in the first place. You don’t deserve it,” Finn insisted. “You’re good people. Both of you are.” 

“You really think so?” Hansel looked up at him, his brown eyes meeting Finn’s. 

Finn nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” 

“Aw, how sweet,” Merlyn remarked teasingly. 

Finn looked between his friends. “You shouldn’t be in here. You don’t deserve it,” he met Hansel’s gaze. “I’m going to get you out of here.” 

“You’re what?” Merlyn stared, her jaw dropping. 

“Finn, don’t do anything stupid,” Hansel clambered to his feet. “Not that you’re stupid or anything. You’re not. It’s just, well, it sounds like you’re going to try and break us out and trying to break us out isn’t your smartest idea.” 

Finn shook his head. “I know what I’m doing. Just trust me,” he turned back and walked down the corridor. He reached the guards and cleared his throat, causing them to turn and look at him. “I am here on behalf of my parents, the king and queen of Inforia,” he began. “They demand the release of Merlyn Mayberry and Hansel Stone.” 

“Release?” one of the guards looked at the others. “Are you sure?” 

“Quite sure,” Finn nodded, trying to sound more confident than he felt. “They’ve been locked up for long enough. It’s time for them to be released.” 

The guards looked between each other. “Do you have any proof that this is what the king and queen want?” 

“Proof?” Finn’s heart skipped a beat. “You mean proof besides the fact that I am the prince and royal heir?” he challenged. “They gave me this mission to preform by myself in preparation for my duties as the heir to the throne. Do you really want to make me go and get them for ‘proof’?” 

“No, sir!” one of the guards said quickly. “We’ll release the prisoners right away!” they hurriedly removed their keys, walking down the hall towards Merlyn and Hansel’s cells. They unlocked the cells and stood aside, allowing the prisoners to walk out. 

Finn nodded. “Follow me,” he told Hansel and Merlyn, starting towards the exit of the dungeons. He led them outside and towards the nearby woods. He turned around to face them, making sure that no one was following them. “Alright. You need to go. Flee. You can’t come back here.” 

“Alright, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Merlyn said, glancing between Finn and Hansel. “But there’s just one thing before we go.” 

“What is it?” 

“You’re coming with us,” Hansel pulled up his shirt, revealing a rope wrapped around his stomach and halfway up his chest. He quickly unraveled the rope and grabbed Finn’s wrists, tying them together. “Sorry about this, but we need to get you to Rai.” 

“Wait, what?” Finn looked between them, his eyes wide in shock. “What are you doing? Where are we going? Who’s Rai?” 

Hansel started pushing Finn into the woods. “Rai is the mage who attacked your ceremony.” 


	5. Chapter 5

Hansel poked and prodded at Finn’s back, forcing him further into the woods. Finn’s head was spinning and he tried to turn around to return to the palace, but the rope was tied tightly around his wrists and Merlyn had a firm grip on the other end of the rope. 

“Come on, guys. This isn’t funny,” Finn insisted, stumbling over a tree root. “Let me go.” 

Hansel’s voice came from behind him. “I’m sorry. I really am, but we can’t do that. We have to take you straight to Rai, with no delays. They’ll want to see you.” 

“You’ve been working for the storm mage this whole time?” Finn’s voice was laced with hurt. “I trusted you! I befriended you! I even let you free!” 

“I know. I know,” Hansel sounded genuinely apologetic “But just because you were nice to us doesn’t mean you’re a nice person.”

“What? What are you talking about? I am a nice person, Hansel! I am!” Finn insisted, not understanding what was going on. “Why do you think I’m not a good person?” 

Hansel sighed, hesitating before responding. “You take a throne that doesn’t belong to you.”

“What?” Finn’s head was spinning. “I don’t understand. What do you mean that it doesn’t belong to me? I’m the heir.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Merlyn said, but she gave no further explanation. She continued tugging on the rope binding Finn’s wrists, pulling him forward. He barely managed to keep up with her long strides. 

Finn swallowed, panic bubbling inside of him. He struggled to bring enough air into his lungs with each breath. He tripped and stumbled, falling to his knees. Merlyn didn’t notice until the rope went taut in her hands. She turned back and rolled her eyes. “Get up,” she commanded, tugging the rope hard enough to cause Finn to lurch forward. 

“Hey, don’t hurt him,” Hansel hurried to Finn’s side. He helped the prince to his feet, steadying him. “Oh, your suit is ruined,” he frowned, looking at the mud that coated the knees of Finn’s expensive suit. 

Finn stared incredulously at the witch. “You’re kidnapping me and you’re worried about my  _ suit _ ?” 

“Well, there’s no reason for your suit to get all dirty,” Hansel’s ears turned a bright pink color. “It’s a really nice suit.” 

Finn couldn’t help but to roll his eyes. “My suit won’t matter when your boss kills me.” 

“Huh?” Hansel appeared taken aback. “Rai isn’t our boss. They’re our friend,” he explained. “We don’t get paid.” 

“Does that matter?” 

“They’re not going to  _ kill  _ you, either. They just want to talk.” 

“Talk? That’s not at all how it sounded when they  _ attacked  _ me and my family during the ceremony,” Finn protested. 

“They didn’t even hurt anyone!” Hansel pointed out. “It wasn’t an attack.” 

“Explain that to the guards who were thrown back by the mage’s magic!” Finn would have crossed his arms if he was able to, but as things were, his hands were trapped in front of him. 

Hansel shook his head. “Look, Rai was doing the best they could given the circumstances. None of this is their fault.” 

“This is  _ precisely  _ their fault!” Finn snapped, anger fueling him. “They broke into the palace! They attacked the guards! They threatened my family!” 

“They only want what’s rightfully theirs,” Merlyn argued. “You’re just prejudiced against mages. You and the rest of your family.”

Finn gaped at her. “ _ What _ ?” he shook his head. “What does that have to do with  _ anything _ ?” he was so confused. “I don’t have anything against mages!” 

“Yeah, sure,” Merlyn remarked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Come on, keep moving,” she tugged on the rope and Finn had no choice but to follow after her. 

“I just don’t understand,” Finn insisted, stumbling after the mage. “How is the throne ‘rightfully theirs’?” 

“Do you ever stop talking?” Merlyn questioned. “We don’t owe you any answers. If you were as smart as you thought you were, you’d figure it out.” 

“There’s no need to be mean,” Hansel protested. “We don’t need to stoop to his level.” 

“What level?” Finn continued through the forest, trying not to get smacked in the face by branches. “I’m not a bad person! I really don’t know what I did, but whatever it is, I’m sorry!” 

“For the love of the gods, shut  _ up.”  _ Merlyn demanded. She pushed through a few brambles that led to a clearing with a small cottage in the middle. It was beautiful, almost fairytale-like, but Finn tried not to focus on that too much. He was too focused on the fact that he was being kidnapped by pretty much his only friends. “Look, just be quiet. I don’t want you embarrassing me.” 

Finn tilted his head to one side. “Embarrassing you? In front of who?” 

“Meeeerrrrlllyyyynn!” there was a flurry of movement and a flash of red before Finn was being jerked forward by the rope. He looked up in time to see a woman enveloping Merlyn in a tight hug. “I missed you so much!” she exclaimed, pulling away just enough to press a kiss to Merlyn’s cheek. “Where have you been? Who’s this?” she peeked over Merlyn’s shoulder to look at Finn. Her words came out in a hurry and a bright smile stretched across her face. “Ooh, he’s cute.” 

Merlyn rolled her eyes, but a small smile hid in the corner of her mouth. “He’s not for you, Hazel,” she told the other girl. “He’s for Rai.” 

“Aw,” the woman - Hazel - pouted. “How come Rai gets all the cute ones?” 

Merlyn rose an eyebrow. “Are you saying that I’m not cute?” 

“Oh, you’re definitely not cute,” Hazel had a teasing grin on her lips. She looped her arms around Merlyn’s neck. “You are beautiful, gorgeous, and sexy, but cute? No way.” 

“Can’t I be all of the above?” Merlyn challenged, wrapping her arms around Hazel’s waist, still keeping her grip on Finn’s rope. 

Hazel giggled, shaking her head. “Nope,” she planted a kiss on Merlyn’s lips. “But last time I checked, Rai isn’t interested in men. Or anyone, for that matter.”

“True, but I think they’ll want to see this boy specifically,” Merlyn played with one of Hazel’s red curls. “Allow me to introduce you,” she stepped back. “Hazel, this is Prince Finn Ryle.”

Hazel’s eyes slowly widened as she processed what Merlyn had just said. “You kidnapped the prince?” she whirled around at Merlyn. “Babe, that’s amazing!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her yet again. “You’re so impressive.” 

Merlyn laughed, a fond smile on her face. “I know,” she hummed.

Hazel broke away from her girlfriend and skipped towards Finn, her arms behind her back. “Aw, why is he all tied up?” she put on a dramatic pout. “Is he even into that?” she asked, causing Finn to blush. “Come on, untie him.” 

Merlyn hesitated. “If we untie him, he might try to run off.” 

“Let him try,” Hazel laughed. “Something tells me that he won’t get far,” there was a wicked gleam in her eye that made Finn’s blood run cold. 

Merlyn shrugged and carefully worked on untying Finn’s hands. She looked him in the eye. “Don’t even think about running. You’ll regret it,” she warned. “We won’t hesitate to take you down.” 

Finn rubbed his wrists from where the rope had rubbed against his skin. “Right,” he murmured nervously, honestly too afraid to try and run away. Not only that, but he was curious. He wanted to meet this “Rai”, wanted to know the person who had threatened his family. 

“Do you want an oil for that?” Hansel asked. Finn turned around in confusion, seeing that Hansel was gesturing to Finn’s sore wrists. “I have an oil that can probably help with the pain.” 

“Oh. Uh,” Finn wasn’t sure what the correct response was in this situation. This boy had just kidnapped him and it was entirely possible that he would use this “oil” to try and poison him. 

“It won’t hurt,” Hansel insisted, awkwardly fiddling with his hands. “It’ll help with the soreness, I promise.” 

Finn found himself nodding along, not really knowing what else to do. Hansel lit up and disappeared within the cottage, returning with a small vile of liquid. “Here,” he gently took one of Finn’s wrists, dabbing a small droplet of the liquid upon his skin before rubbing it in. “There. Now your other wrist,” he repeated the action with the other wrist. “That should help you feel better.” 

“Thanks,” Finn said without really thinking about it. He internally questioned why he was thanking his kidnapper for anything. “So, why are we here? I thought you were taking me to the storm mage.” 

“We are,” Hansel said, brushing his dirty blond hair out of his eyes. “But we need to get supplies first. Where we’re going is a ways away.” 

Finn nodded in understanding. “What is this place exactly?” he questioned. “Is this like the base for rebel mages?” 

“What?” Hansel stared at Finn quizzically. “No. This is just home. It’s just me, Merlyn, and Hazel.” 

Finn was skeptical, unable to trust anything that Hansel said. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?” 

“Why would I lie?” Hansel shrugged. “I don’t have any reason to.” 

“I guess,” Finn still didn’t fully trust him. He looked over at where Hazel and Merlyn were speaking to one another. “What are they talking about?”

Hansel followed Finn’s gaze. “Probably you.” 

“Oh.” 

Hazel suddenly turned around, catching Finn’s eye and grinning. She waved at him in an excited manner. She said something to Merlyn that Finn couldn’t hear before flouncing over to Finn and Hansel. “Hello, your royal highness,” she greeted, bowing. 

Finn rolled his eyes. “There’s no need to mock me,” he muttered, looking down. 

“Who’s mocking? I’m not mocking,” Hazel put a hand over her heart, looking offended. “I’m just greeting you by the proper title, sir,” she grinned. “It’s only polite.”

Finn rolled his eyes, already not caring for this woman at all. “I don’t see the point in being polite to your kidnappee.”

“Kidnappee?” Hazel snorted. “Is that even a word?”   


Finn’s face burned, heat rising to his cheeks. “It is! It means ‘one who has been kidnapped’!” in truth, he had no idea if it really was a word, but he doubted that these mages or witches or whatever who lived in the middle of the woods would know that.

“Doesn’t sound like a word to me,” the red-haired mage shrugged, her smile never leaving her face. “Anyway, you should relax.”

“Relax?” Finn stared at her incredulously. “I’ve been kidnapped by a couple of mages who are taking me to a super dangerous mage who threatened my family!”

Hazel looked at Finn a moment before bursting into laughter. “Dangerous? Rai? No way,” she shook her head. “Sure, they’re a little ambitious and can come off a bit strong, but they mean well.”

“How could they possibly mean well after attacking my family?”

“They just want a better world for us mages,” she explained. “That’s not a crime.”

“The  _ crime  _ is breaking into the royal palace during an important ceremony and threatening the royal family!” Finn threw his hands in the air, not understanding why Hazel couldn’t see what was right in front of her. “And it’s not like mages are treated so terribly.” 

Hazel fixed Finn with a look, studying him closely. “You really don’t know, do you?” 

“Know what?” 

“How we’re treated,” Hazel shook her head. “Well-”

“Oh, he knows,” Merlyn came over, her arms crossed. “He just doesn’t care. No one like him cares about people like us.” 

Finn stared at Merlyn and shook his head. “I really have no idea what you’re talking about,” he insisted. 

“Then you’re just ignorant. You’d have to be purposefully blinding yourself in order to not see what’s right under your nose,” Merlyn said accusingly, poking Finn in his chest. “Even if you’re not directly responsible, you’re not doing anything to help.” 

Finn crossed his arms. “How am I supposed to do anything to help when you’ve kidnapped me and taken me away from my position of power?” 

“You’ll help plenty once we get you to Rai.” 

“How?” 

“Your parents will have to start listening to us if we have something to hold over them,” Hazel explained cheerfully. “And now that we have you, we have the leverage that we need.” 

“Why didn’t you just try talking to them without all the kidnapping?” Finn asked, still not entirely grasping the logic here. “You’re able to call a meeting with them.” 

“You don’t think people have tried that?” Merlyn snapped. “Of course they have. Nobody listens to us, no matter what we do. Now, we have to make them listen.” 

Finn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had trusted Merlyn, he had thought her to be brilliant and wise, but here she was, spouting nonsense. “You didn’t have to  _ kidnap  _ me to get your point across.” 

“Apparently, we did, because nothing else has worked,” she said, brushing her pink hair back. “Look, you don’t have a say in any of this. Your job is to just stand there and look vulnerable and helpless, alright?” 

Finn scowled. “I’m not vulnerable or helpless! I’m fine!” he protested. “I could leave whenever I wanted to.”

Merlyn snorted. “Sure you could.”

“I could! I will!” Finn turned around and headed back towards the woods. He marched away from the small gathering of people, pushing past a bush and disappearing into the trees. His heart was hammering in his chest and he could hear his blood in his ears. He ducked under an overhanging branch, moving to go under it, but it smacked against his head. He stumbled back, rubbing the sore spot. He frowned, having been sure that he had ducked under the branch. He squatted down to pass underneath and this time he saw it move down, swinging to hit him again. He barely managed to dive out of the way, finding himself trapped in a bush. He yelped as several thorns dug into his skin, the bush untangling its stems to wrap around him. “What the-” he winced as the thorns dug further into him, making it painful to move and try to escape.He heard a twig snap and he forced his head up to see Hazel standing above him, her hands on her knees as she bent over to look at him. 

“Struggling just makes them grow tighter,” she warned, that tell-tale smile still upon her lips. She made a gesture with her hand and the stems that were wrapped around him slowly pulled away, the thorns withdrawing from his skin. She stuck out a hand to help him up, which he took. She pulled him to his feet and dusted him off. “Your poor suit is all ripped now,” she motioned towards several small holes and tears created by the thorns. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and changed,” she offered peppily, leading him back to the cottage. 

Hansel glanced up upon Finn and Hazel’s return. “Did she hurt you?” he asked. “Those thorns can be really painful,” he looked at Finn sympathetically. “You’re covered in dirt. Come in, I’ll show you to the bath.” 

Finn reluctantly followed the witch inside, still shaken up by his attack from plants. He knew that mages were powerful, but the way the plants bended to Hazel’s will was absolutely terrifying. It was unlike anything Finn had ever seen before and he didn’t like it. He distantly listened as Hansel explained that the water for the bath had to be drawn from the well nearby and that it would be rather cold. He watched as the boy placed a pile of clean clothes on the floor beside the tub. 

“Hopefully these will fit you. They’re big on me and a bit small on Merlyn and you look like you might be between our two sizes,” Hansel reasoned. “But yeah. Enjoy your bath. I’ll start packing for our journey,” he told him before exiting the room. 

Finn wasn’t used to fetching his own water for his baths. He wasn’t used to the water being so cold or to bathing himself. He was so accustomed to having servants who would do such things for him. He shivered in the tub, bathing himself as quickly as possible before getting out and drying. He put on the clothes that Hansel had set out for him. They were a bit big on him, the shirt hanging awkwardly off of one shoulder and the pants having to be held up by a belt. Finn felt like he must look ridiculous. He’d never worn clothes that weren’t perfectly tailored to his measurements before. 

He stepped out of the room and made his way down a hallway, finding himself in a kitchen with a small table used for dining. Did they really not have a separate dining room? Hazel was sitting at one of the chairs by the table while Merlyn was collecting food into bags. 

“We can’t leave tonight. I have customers,” Hazel was saying. “It would be rude to cancel on them.” 

“This is more important than your job, Haze,” Merlyn countered. “You can afford to be rude this one time.” 

“If I cancel, people won’t trust me going forward,” the red-haired mage argued. “I don’t understand why we can’t just leave tomorrow morning.” 

“Because the sooner we get the prince to Rai, the sooner we can be done with all of this.”

“But what about my customers?”

“They can wait until we get back.” 

“I don’t think my customers are willing to wait that long.”

“Then you’ll get new customers. It’s not like there’s a low demand for what you sell.” 

“What do you sell?” Finn asked curiously, not being able to help his interrupting. 

Hazel turned around in surprise, apparently not having noticed he was there. “Why? You interested?” she winked. 

Finn felt his cheeks heat up. “What? I don’t even know what you sell,” he said before looking at Hazel’s face. “You, wait, you mean,” his face suddenly felt very, very hot as he realized what she meant. “No! I mean- You’re very attractive, but I don’t- You’re- No!” 

Hazel laughed, throwing her head back as the sound filled the room. “Relax. I’m just kidding. I doubt you have the money to pay me anyway.” 

He looked at Merlyn. “But I thought the two of you were together?” he asked quizzically. “If you’re together, then…”

“How do you think we get money for food?” Merlyn rolled her eyes. “And for gifts and for dates? Everyone’s gotta make money somehow.” 

“But isn’t it, you know, weird?” Finn asked. “Like, don’t you get jealous?” 

“What’s there to be jealous of? Other people have to pay for what I get for free,” Merlyn smirked. “Besides, just because she does things for other people doesn’t lessen her relationship with me at all.” 

“I guess,” Finn was still a bit uneasy about the whole thing. It just didn’t feel right to him for reasons he couldn’t quite explain. He decided not to argue about it, however. “Where’s Hansel?” he asked, eager to change the subject. 

Merlyn shrugged. “Probably packing up the last few things that we’ll need for the journey tonight.” 

“I still think we should leave tomorrow,” Hazel pouted. “It makes more sense. Plus, we’ll have a bit more money for our journey if we wait.” 

Merlyn sighed. “I really think we should just head out as soon as possible, dear.” 

“I disagree. Why don’t we ask Hansel? He can serve as a tie-breaker.” 

“Fine. Fine,” Merlyn shook her head. “We’ll ask Hansel, but you know how bad he is at decisions.” 

“He’ll get over it,” Hazel chirped. “Hansel~” she sing-songed, moving past Finn and down the tiny hallway. 

Hansel stuck his head out from one of the doorways. “Yeah?” 

“Do you think we should leave tonight or tomorrow morning? I think it makes more sense for us to leave tomorrow so I don’t disappoint my customers and so we have more money.”

“Oh, yeah. That sounds good to me,” Hansel nodded. 

Merlyn made her way towards him, pushing past Finn as if he wasn’t even there. “But if we leave tonight, we’ll be able to cover more ground and get to Rai sooner.” 

“Oh, good point,” Hansel said. “We should leave tonight, then.” 

“What about my point?” Hazel whined. “I made a good point too.” 

“You did,” Hansel agreed quickly. “Maybe we should leave tomorrow. Or tonight. Or eventually,” he was clearly cracking under the pressure of decision-making. “We’ll leave at some point.” 

Merlyn removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Hansel, that isn’t an answer.” 

“Oh, uh,” he swallowed, beginning to sweat. 

“I think we should leave tomorrow,” Finn chimed in. “It makes more sense.” 

Merlyn spun around and fixed Finn with a glare. “No one asked you, your highness. You can’t just stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Hey, I say we hear him out,” Hazel argued. 

“That’s only because he’s agreeing with you,” Merlyn crossed her arms. “If he took my side, you wouldn’t want to listen to him either.” 

“That’s not true!” Hazel insisted, a pout on her lips. “I just think he deserves to have an opinion. Besides, we need a tie-breaker since Hansel is useless.” 

“Hey,” Hansel protested. “I’m not useless. Am I?” he looked between the women with an almost nervous expression. 

“No, Hansel, you’re not useless,” Merlyn assured the boy. “But we don’t need our prisoner to break the tie, here.” 

“Apparently, we do,” Hazel said. “Now, I’m going to get ready for work and I’ll be back by sunrise,” she kissed Merlyn on the cheek. “I love you.”

“Wait, but-” Merlyn began to protest, but Hazel was already gone. She sighed and shook her head, turning to glare at Finn. “This is your fault.” 

Finn put his hands up in surrender, just glad that he had a night to rest before being forced to face a powerful mage who might or might not want him dead. Merlyn huffed and stormed off, turning on heel to exit in a dramatic fashion. 

“I hate it when they fight,” Hansel said before looking back at Finn. “Oh, but you should rest. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” 


End file.
